Not Just a Watch, Not Just Friends
by TheGirlWhoRemembers
Summary: 'It's going to get hot out there, Boze; hold on to this for me. Please.' A sort-of fix-it and an episode tag for 2.06, Jet Engine and Pickup Truck.


'And how soon is eventually?' Mac did that thing with his face again, and inwardly, Cage sighed. 'You don't know. Of course.'

He nodded, a little sheepishly and not without worry or fear, as he glanced around the village. There was a little boy crying, and as they watched, his mother hurried up to him and held out her arms, and her son buried his head in her dress. Mac swallowed, and Cage glanced over to where he was looking, her expression softening a little.

Mac stared into the distance for a moment, thinking and lost in a memory, as best as Cage could tell, then got up, undoing the watch around his left wrist, and walking towards where Bozer and Riley had set up.

Cage followed.

Mac held out his dad's precious watch to Bozer, who hesitated. Bozer definitely knew how much that watch meant to his best friend, both as a memento of the past, and as a hope for the future, the hope that he would find his father.

(Bozer worried that Mac was obsessing too much about the watch and that supposed clue that he'd found inside it, but as the only person on the team who'd actually met James MacGyver, Bozer felt he could speak with authority when he said that that clue was the kind of thing that the man might leave. And Bozer also knew that Mac would not give up until he found his dad – because Mac _never_ gave up – so the best that he could do was look after him, support him, help him in any way he could, and pull him away from the hunt, pull him out of the rabbit hole, when Mac needed a break.)

'Mac, bro-'

This seemed way too much like the hero going off to die heroically giving someone who was going to get left behind a token to remember him by for Bozer's taste.

Mac cut off Bozer's protests, holding the watch out a little more insistently.

'It's going to get hot out there, Boze; hold on to this for me. Please.'

Bozer looked up at his best friend, swallowed and nodded, taking the watch and carefully pocketing it. He pointed at Mac with a firmness and bravado that he didn't completely feel, but was determined to feel, because the alternative was something he just couldn't bear.

'I'll be giving this back to you right after you cap that well, bro.'

Mac smiled, and reached out to start his and Bozer's secret handshake from when they were kids, which Bozer automatically started as well.

(Cage and Riley shared a look, equal parts fond and exasperated, clearer and stronger on Riley's face than Cage's. Mac and Bozer – and Jack – were clearly never going to grow up, not completely.)

(That was part of their charm.)

* * *

As Mac and Cage walked back towards the modified pickup, Mac shrugged a little awkwardly and spoke, seeming to feel the need to explain his actions.

'Even if it's just an old, poorly-repaired watch…it's all I've got left of him, you know?'

Cage just gave a little nod in understanding.

* * *

As they stared at the previously-burning well head, the hysterical laughter of people who'd just escaped death by a hair's breadth dying down, Cage turned to Mac, and spoke with great certainty.

'Mac, if you can put out that fire with spare parts and an old truck, you can find your dad.'

He smiled, small and slow, an expression that Cage mirrored, her smile a little smaller, but no less genuine.

'Thank you.'

* * *

As they flew back to LA, Mac toyed with a paperclip, which was rapidly taking on the shape of a gear, that particular gear from the watch back on his left wrist.

 _Cage has a point._

 _Maybe I'm looking for something, anything, that might help me find my dad, and as a result, I've got a really nasty case of confirmation bias._

Mac looked down at the watch on his wrist.

 _But I also know that even if this is really just a poorly-repaired watch…this isn't the end of my search._

 _I'm going to keep looking for my dad._

 _Maybe, sometimes, the trail will go completely cold, or there'll be something more pressing I have to deal with – not uncommon in my line of work at all – and I'll have to put it aside for a bit._

Mac looked up at Jack, Cage, Bozer and Riley. Bozer was recounting how he'd saved Riley's life heroically, while Riley had just punched him lightly in the arm and pointed out that he'd caught fire in the attempt and reacted in a very un-suave fashion, though there was so much fondness and affection in her expression, at least to his eyes, knowing her so well now, that Mac was quite sure that she didn't give two cents about the lack of suave on his best friend's part. Jack was chuckling, while Cage looked very amused.

 _Maybe, sometimes, I'll get in too deep, and they're going to have to drag me out for a break._

 _But I'm going to find my dad._

Mac smiled.

 _And I'm not going to do it alone._

* * *

AN: As you can tell, I wasn't a massive fan of Mac giving his dad's watch to Cage, of all people. I do understand why they did it for the narrative and character development of Cage/relationship development between her and Mac, but at the same time, it made very little sense – Mac, Cage is going with you and Jack to that well head too, it's not going to be much safer with her than you! Also, I want more Mac and Bozer moments! I miss the Mac and Bozer moments! So, this is the result – the idea was to show that they could achieve the same goals, while having Mac give the watch to Bozer, who is logically the best person for him to give it to, and giving them a little moment too. We've had almost every other combination of characters having moments, every single episode now has a Jack/Mac moment, a Mac/Cage moment, a Jack/Riley moment, and a Bozer/Riley moment; Mac and Bozer's beautiful friendship deserves those too!

Feedback would be very much appreciated! (So would people to rant with!)


End file.
